Water quality around Costa Concordia wreck unaffected by ship

Tests released to the public on the island of Giglio in the Tuscan Bay reveal that water quality around the partially-submerged Costa Concordia is good. The tests reveal that the water by the ship is of the same quality as elsewhere in the area.

Costa Cruises, owner/operator of the Costa Concordia, is paying for the testing and they are being conducted by researchers from the University of Florence, the University of Pisa and the University of Rome, and others. Tests were conducted on not just water but also on colonies of mussels, sea urchins and fish in the area.

The ship lies 300 metres from the shores of Giglio and 65 percent of it is underwater. The American company Titan Salvage and the Italian company, Micoperi, are working to refloat the Costa Concordia. They plan to have that accomplished sometime in December and then the cruise liner will be towed to the port of Piombino and scrapped.

The Costa Concordia went down on Jan. 13, 2012 with the loss of 32 lives. After the disaster there was a concern the 17 oil tanks would not be pumped out before leakage occurred. However, by April of 2012 oil from the tanks had all been pumped out without incident. That work was done by a Dutch company, Smit Salvage, who also picked up debris from the ocean floor.

There were over 4200 passengers and crew onboard the 114,500 tonnes ship when it went down after hitting a reef. Captain Francesco Schettino took it too close to shore, reportedly to show off to a retired colleague living on the island. Two of the bodies have yet to be recovered.

Schettino has been charged with manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. His trial finally gets underway on July 9 in Grosetto, Italy.